How to occupy your toddler who wants to run around and play? Any fitness options for young kids that are also fun? Here are two places in the area that can offer you some choices –
The Little Gym at Alwarpet.
This is a fun place for children. It is filled with big, colourful blocks grouped into stations or activities. It has the feel of a playground, indoors.
The franchisee of this gym is Divya Gopinath. ‘When we moved here from Bangalore, we were looking for a gym for my son. There wasn’t one in the city, so I decided to start it myself’, says Divya.
‘It is a safe, secure and nurturing environment for children to have a balanced and fun learning experience. I was sure that it would be appreciated by moms everywhere’.
Divya has a varied experience – studied graphic design, worked in an advertising agency for sometime. She started a small craft supply business with a friend, and when Scholastic published 2 finger puppet books for children, she designed all the characters in it. She enjoys working with children and The Little Gym is another fun experience that allows her to do that.
The Little Gym is a US-based franchise and follows a professionally researched curriculum, says Divya. The starting age group is 4 months and cut off age is 12 years. Though competitive gymnastics is not taught, it is used as a tool to build confidence in children. Classes are theme based, age appropriate according to each child’s developmental stage and include lesson plans with music, games and more. It generally works as a 40 session programme.
A variety of activities are offered – dance, Karate, summer/winter camps to name a few. You can also rent the place for birthday parties. Parent and child classes are also offered which can educate the parent on how to spot their child, baby sign language to make communication easier and a lot of bonding activities.
You can try out the Littlegym during play dates on Fridays. Ballet classes may be be offered soon. At 35, T. T. K. Road, Alwarpet. Ph: 42326111.
The Fitroom.
Saraswathi Venkatramani is the founder and proprieter of The Fitroom. She is a certified yoga instructor and tries to incorporate yogic principles into the programmes offered here.
The philosophy followed here is that a healthy lifestyle encompasses physical activity, right Nutrition and a balanced mind. So the courses offered here encompass all three aspects in a fun way.
‘Yoga helps us improve our whole way of life. This includes our physical fitness, mental wellbeing and also watching what we eat. So we offer courses that help children learn about all these values’, she says.
There are three rooms here – the mind room, body room and food room. Each room caters to a specific set of activities that pertain to the value it is meant for. The body room is used to hold classes in yoga, urban tumbler (level 1 gymnastics for kids); the mind room for music and the food room is where children will be taught to make healthy, easy food items. There are classes in Aikido – a Japanese martial art form that works well with yoga, , cardio dance fit and zentangle. The food workshops are run by Nandi Shah, founder of re:store.
New courses are introduced periodically. People can sign up on a monthly basis or for specific courses. ‘Most of our classes are for kids – our aim is to nurture focused, healthy and happy kids. Some classes are also offered in the mornings for adults and we have a special ‘mom and me’ programme which helps parents to bond with their infants’, adds Saraswathi.
At 1, Appavoo Apartments, Flat 7, 1st Floor, 2nd Street Venus Colony, Alwarpet. For more information about the classes offered contact them at 42139222. For kids aged 3 – 16 years.
